At Our Hotel, Union Square San Francisco

A regal hotel in San Francisco’s Union Square

At the Kimpton Sir Francis Drake Hotel, our city-smart concierges are dedicated to providing personalized recommendations to help you make the most of your stay in the City by the Bay. Our team of experts will help you create your ultimate San Francisco shortlist so you can see the sights, get outdoors, shop, dine, drink and truly experience San Francisco like a local.

Our team is available to arrange airport transportation, rental cars, restaurant reservations,
Alcatraz
and
Wine Country tours,
cable car rides, in-room massage, and any other special requests during your visit.

Leif Abram

I've lived in the City pretty much my entire life, and I'm here to ensure you have a wonderful time in our San Francisco. I like to eat, to drink and explore our culturally diverse neighborhoods. I love the challenge of making the impossible possible for you.

Michael Shada

A native Californian, I first moved to San Francisco in the mid '60s. Being a concierge is perhaps the perfect job -- guests ask for directions, opinions and guidance. Then, like your children, sometimes they follow your advice to the letter, and other times they use it as a road map for making their own discoveries and memories in this wonderful city.

Hailey Ashcraft

I am from Southern California but I am proud to say San Francisco is my home. I am a mom and I can tell you this city is a wonderful place for families. I enjoy hiking, art, music, and the extensive restaurants this city has to offer. The best part of my day is meeting new people and learning what they discover when they explore our city.

LEIF SAYS: Our city is known for its great views and vantage points. Coit Tower is one of the best. Located atop Telegraph Hill, the round, stone tower offers panoramic views of the city and Golden Gate Bridge. Take the Filbert Street Stairs and you may see a flock of parrots!

MICHAEL SAYS: The Great Lawn at Fort Mason -- it's best at sunset. On Friday nights, you can combine this with Off the Grid at Fort Mason Center, a great food-truck experience. Muni bus #30 picks you up one block away from the Drake and delivers you to within 3 blocks of Fort Mason.

HAILEY SAYS: My favorite view of the Golden Gate Bridge is from Crissy Field. It really is the best view.

LEIF SAYS: I love the Segway tours. Segways are those weird-looking upright scooters you've probably seen on TV. They do a great job in teaching you how to ride them. It's intuitive and simple. They offer two-hour narrated tours of the San Francisco waterfront or even Golden Gate Park. My favorite.

MICHAEL SAYS: I'm partial to Magic Bus because I lived here in the '60s and there are some great, great memories. I lived the Magic.

HAILEY SAYS: The best tour in San Francisco is Great Pacific's City Tour. You go in a van and get to see many parts of the city that the big bus tours cannot reach.

LEIF SAYS: Haight-Ashbury. Part trendy, part nostalgic, part funky, the Haight (as it's known) was the soul of the psychadelic 1960s and the counterculture movement. Today the neighborhood is filled with trendy shops. Muni bus #71 will get you there.

HAILEY SAYS: The best boutique shopping is on Valencia street in the Mission District or on Union Street in Cow Hollow.

LEIF SAYS: Lands End in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. There is no urban shoreline as stunning as San Francisco's. These trails wrap around the northwest corner of the City and offers views of the Pacific Ocean and west to the Farallon Islands.

MICHAEL SAYS: I'm an *urban* hiker so the one I like is from Pier 1 to the Golden Gate Bridge -- allow about 1.5 hours. There are magnificent views of the East Bay, Alcatraz, the Golden Gate and plenty of eye candy going through the Wharf area. AND, there's only one hill on the entire route. Easy to take Muni bus #28 or #30 back to the Drake.

HAILEY SAYS: I have two favorite places for hiking. I like to hike Lands End Trail because of the breathtaking beauty and the Presidio because there are wonderful surprises including several outdoor sculptures by artist Andy Goldsworthy.

LEIF SAYS: Scoma's is a throwback to the dining of yesteryear. It's good old-fashioned seafood served in huge portions. Boudin at Fisherman's Wharf is a shrine to San Francisco sourdough bread. Drop in to see the bakers at work making 3,000 loaves daily. A cable car ride is a fun way to get to the Wharf.

MICHAEL SAYS: My favorite is Alioto's for sentimental reasons. Still good after all these years.

HAILEY SAYS: Fog Harbor. My favorite dish is the clam chowder with fresh crab on top and a big piece of their fresh sourdough bread.

LEIF SAYS: San Francisco's dining scene is one of the best in the world, and here in Union Square is no exception. Our Scala's is a local favorite. With just the right balance of elegance and informality, this is the perfect place to have fun and eat some world-class food. Another place I like to tell guests about is Belden Place. It's an adorable little brick alley that is open only to foot traffic. There are seven restaurants from Italian (Cafe Tiramisu) to French (Cafe Bastille) to fish (Plouf). When the weather is agreeable, the restaurants that line the alley break out the big umbrellas, tables and chairs and just like that, a bit of Paris just off Pine Street.

MICHAEL SAYS: Number one on the list -- Scala's Bistro. Farallon for seafood. John's Grill for Roquefort salad with plenty of shrimp, broiled swordfish and a baked potato.

LEIF SAYS: The Starlight Room here at the Drake is classic 1930s San Francisco, with red velvet banquettes, chandeliers, and fabulous views. Crowds of all ages come for a night of drinking and over-the-top dancing. Biscuits and Blues around the corner from us has a New Orleans speakeasy appeal. They present a nightly lineup of live, national acts to entertain you.

LEIF SAYS: The eight blocks of Valencia Street between 16th and 24th streets -- what's come to be known as the Valencia Corridor -- is a vibrant, culturally diverse neighborhood. Amazing restaurants, nightlife, great stores and the not-to-be-missed street murals on Clarion Alley. BART, getting off at 16th and Mission, will get you there.

MICHAEL: See some baseball at AT&T Park, for free! Go to the stadium's Portwalk, beyond the right field wall, and you'll have a standing-room view of the game through the open fence. The fans who watch here are called the Knothole Gang. BYO peanuts.

HAILEY SAYS: The one thing you should not miss while here are the cable cars. They are the most fun late in the evening.

LEIF SAYS: A former airfield, Crissy Field. The beach, which is under the Golden Gate Bridge, gives dogs and people a wonderful place to romp.

HAILEY SAYS: A great place to walk dogs is the path that runs along the waterfront from Fisherman's Wharf to the Golden Gate Bridge. A few places along the route are Fort Mason and Crissy Field, and the path has great views of the Bridge and Alcatraz.

LEIF SAYS: Japantown. Bounded by Octavia, Fillmore, California and Geary this is a neighborhood secret. Exploring these few square blocks and the shops and restaurants within them is a cultural experience. Muni bus #2 or #3 will take you there.

MICHAEL SAYS: I can't tell you; it's a secret. But, if you swing by the concierge desk, I might let it slip. It's a neighborhood restaurant.